When and where was he born?

Millard Fillmore was born on January 7, 1800 in Cayuga County, New York.

Early Life

Millard Fillmore was born into a poor family. Due to his poor background, he couldn’t attain formal education during his early years and began working at a young age.

He initially worked as a cloth maker but eventually started working as a clerk for a judge. During this time, he also taught himself to read and write, developing an interest for books.

While working with the judge, he gained valuable experience of the law and developed interest in the profession of law. So he studied law and passed the bar exam at the age of 23. After this, he started practicing law.

Life in Politics

Millard Fillmore was very successful as a lawyer and soon had a famous law firm of his own. He began his political career when he was elected a member of the New York State Assembly in 1828.

In 1833, he was elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He would go on to serve in the House four times.

Then in 1848, he was nominated as the candidate for Vice Presidency together with Zachary Taylor who ran for Presidency.

They won the election and as Taylor took office, Millard Fillmore became the Vice President. However, Taylor’s term was brief and he died in 1850. This led the Vice President Fillmore to take the office.

Life as the President

Millard Fillmore became President at a time when there was a lot of tension between the southern and northern states. Southern states supported slavery and state rights, while the northern states supported federalism and opposed slavery. One of the most important achievements of President Fillmore was ‘The Compromise of 1850’.

This was a set of laws which were meant to pacify both the northern and the southern states. Some of these laws supported the North while some supported the South.

In this way, Fillmore was able to reduce the tension between the two sides, at least for the time being. As a President, he wanted to bring about peace and reconcile the different between the American states. But his efforts didn’t result in a long-term solution.

Later Life and Death

Millard Fillmore remained President from 1850 to 1853. He couldn’t run for a second term because his party didn’t nominate it. He later ran for Presidency in 1856 but lost the election. During the American Civil War, he actively opposed the policies of Abraham Lincoln. He died on March 8, 1874 in Buffalo, New York.